10+ Malayalam Movies That Taught Â Women That They Can #DARETOBEBOLD

08 Mar 2017
FWD Admin
Features

How many times have a woman had to compromise to rise to the top? Women have always been faced with hurdles and challenges. Until recently, the hero had his name appear first in the credit role. Times are changing, but the norms aren’t. But that being said, it is a fact that there are many who tried breaking the norms. With today being Women’s Day, WtzupKochi had a ball picking out classic movies where women were the heroes. All you ladies, gather all your favourite women and watch some movies from this list today to feel empowered and have a great time.

22 Female Kottayam

Tessy (Rima Kallingal) is a nurse who wishes to make a career for herself in Canada. She meets Cyriac (Fahadh Faasil) while going through the regular visa processes, and falls in love with him. She faces situations in the movie that leave her doubting herself and her integrity as a woman, and turns to the man she is in love with for help, but she goes on to discover he’s the main person behind it. Instead of breaking or crying, she gathers all her strenght and claims revenge on those that wronged her.

Achuvinte Amma

Vanaja (Urvashi) is a smart LIC agent who lives with her daughter Achu (Meera Jasmine). All is well until Ijo (Narein) and Achu cross paths. What was once a harmonious family was disrupted as Vanaja was against the relationship. Achu, who was once the sweet, doting child that never went against her mom, finds her own footing and asks questions that were long left unanswered. But situations arise that bring to light the truth behind Vanaja,her struggles, her past. They recognize each other for the strong women they are.

Thoovanamthumbikal

The movie gave us Clara, played by the enigmatic Sumalatha. Clara was the strong and independant woman with a sense of dignity that seemed uncalled for to the audience at the time because of her choice of profession. Her choices drive the movie forward. She became a prostitute because of her dire need for money, yet refuses to marry Jayakrishnan. Though the movie follows the male protagonist, a.k.a. Mohanlal as Jayakrishnan, it gives us two strong unconventional women. The other women, his wife, Radha played by Parvathy was an equally bold character, with her no-nonsense attitude and strength.

Kannaki

The movie directed by Jayaraj is a local take on Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra. Kannaki (Nandita Das), is the local beauty with magical powers. The two best friends Choman (Siddique) and Manickam (Lal) fall out when Manickam chooses to marry Kannaki and not Kumudam, Chomans sister. Kannaki is fed stories and ideas by Kanakamma (Kalpana), a local fortune teller, that brings about a marked miscommunication between Kannaki and Manickam. It builds and ultimately leads to the death of the two lovers.

Kannezhuthi Pottumthottu

Bhadra (Manju Warrier), the strong female protagonist of the story, sets out to take her revenge against Natesan (Thilakan), who murdered her family 15 years ago. She seduces both the father and son, ultimately getting them to fight each other. Manju Warrier, as an actor, shines in her role as the charming manipulative seductress, set on the goal to end the tyranny of the father- son duo by their death. She falls in love with the charming Moosakutty (Abbas), but chooses not to be with him till she reaches her goal.

Avalude Ravukal

The first Malayalam movie to get an “A” certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification, Avalude Ravukal followed the life of a prostitute, Raji played by Seema. It dealt with very bold and controversial subjects that many directors still delve into with caution. It deals with the life of Raji, who became a prostitute to take care of her brother that ultimately dies an untimely death at the police station. But she finds her happy ending when she marries her regular customer Babu (Ravikumar).

Naalu Penungal

This compelling film by Adoor Gopalakrishnan takes inspiration from four selected short stories of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. The film follows four women from Kuttanad, Allapuzha; The Prostitute, Kunjipennu (Padmapriya); The Virgin, Kumari (Geethu Mohandas); The Housewife, Chinnu Amma (Manju Pillai); The Spinster (Nandita Das). The movie showcases the life of these women at of extreme patriarchal constraints. We see that they are more than their labels, and show a rebellious spirit in their choices and decisions.

Zachariyayude Garbhinigal

The story revolves around four unconventional/ illegitimate pregnancies that a gynaecologist, Zachariya, treats. The five women are played by Rima Kallingal, Sanusha, Geetha, Asha Sharreth, and Sandra Thomas, with Asha Sharreth as the doctor's wife. The film is a comedy drama told through the eyes of Zachariya, played by Lal. Sanusha plays an 18 year old pregnant girl Saira, who refuses to abort or reveal the identity of the father.Anuradha (Sandra Thomas) got pregnant out of wedlock, while Jasmine Jennifer got pregnant at the age of 52 through artificial insemination. Fatima(Rima Kallingal) plays the role of a nurse whose entire pregnancy is a charade.

Kanmadam

Bhanu (Manju Warrier), the outspoken high-tempered girl that had the weight of her family on her shoulder. A former thug, Viswanathan (Mohanlal),returns back to Kerala to help the family of Damodaran, the man he and his friend Johny (Lal) accidentally killed. He helps Damodaran's grandmother and his sister Bhanu financially and helps them rebuild their lives. Johny comes for Viswanathan, and a resulting set of misunderstandings makes them foes. In the movie, Bhanu stands out as a unique woman, strong and independant in a place that gave little to no importance to their women folk.

Perumazhakaalam

Raziya (Meera Jasmine) and her father Abdu (Mammukoya) travel to Palakkad to obtain a letter from Ganga (Kavya Madhavan) pardoning Raziyas husband Akbar (Dileep) for accidentally killing Ganga’s husband Raghu (Vineeth). At first, they aren’t even allowed to meet with Ganga, but even when they finally do, they end up being thrown out from the community compound by Raghu’s relatives. Ganga realising she had to help Raziya out, decides to go against her community and help her. She ends up being thrown out too. Both Raziya and Ganga are the central characters of the film, one persistent and the other brave.

Rani Padmini

Padmini (Manju Warrier) is a married woman with traditional beliefs who heads out to Manali, in Himachal Pradesh in search of her husband who’s out for a car rally in the valley to resolve a personal issue. Rani (Rima Kallingal) is a wild child who is on the run from a bunch of criminals. Rani and Padmini cross paths and they embark on an adventure of self discovery and friendship.

Ennu Swantham Janakikutty

Janakikutty (Jomol) is a ninth grader with a bright imagination and has a unique character. She doesn’t fit in well with others and had no friends other than her grandmother (Valsala Menon) and her neighbour Bhaskaran (Sharath). She learns about the legend behind the restricted area of the forest from her grandmother - About the yakshi Kunjathol and her associate Karineeli. Intrigued by the legend and prompted by an accidental discovery of an illicit affair in the family, Janakikutty runs off to the forest and becomes friends with Kunjathol and Karineeli. What follows is the story of a strong female friendship that pushes her to be strong, but at the same time makes one question the heroine's state of mind - whether Kunjathol is a figment of the protagnist's imagination created out of necessity.

These are some of our favorite female centric movies and if you think there are other movies that ought to be on this list, drop a line and let us know.